Neighboring Counties

Resources

Bible Records

Biography

Biography(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Professional Genealogists who specialize in State Research helps you compare the expertise, credentials, and rates of professional researchers who can help you access these records.

See USGenWeb Utah County Archives for the following cemeteries - American Fork Cemetery, Lindon Cemetery, Mill Fork Cemetery, Pleasant Grove City Cemetery, Santaquin City Cemetery, Woodmen of the World Burials.

Census

The 1850 [1851], 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Utah County are available online, at Family Search Historical Records.

For tips on accessing census records online, see Utah Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in national indexes, try checking local indexes. Created by experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide indexes.

Utah County Justice Court deals with class B and C misdemeanors, violations of ordinances, small claims, and infractions committed within County jurisdiction. The Justice Court shares jurisdiction with the Juvenile Court over minors 16 or 17 years old, who are charged with certain traffic offenses. See the Juvenile Court below for other types of juvenile cases.

Directories

1879-1880 - Culmer, H.L.A. et al. Utah Directory and Gazetteer for 1879-80: Containing the Name and Occupation of Every Resident in the Towns and Cities of Salt Lake, Utah, Weber and Davis Counties: and a Very Complete List of the Merchants, Manufacturers, Professional Men and Officials: Together with Full Gazetteer Information. Salt Lake City, Utah: Printed for H.L.A. Culmer & Co. by J.C. Graham & Co., 1879. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Directories(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Gazetteers

Genealogy

Genealogy(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

History

History(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

1849. Provo was originally called Fort Utah when settled, but was renamed Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.

1850. American Fork was settled by Mormon pioneers, and incorporated as Lake City in 1852.

1850. Mormon pioneers settled the area now known as Lehi, at a place called Dry Creek, near the head of Utah Lake. It was renamed Evansville in 1851, after David Evans, a local bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other historical names include Sulphur Springs and Snow’s Springs.

1850. Mapleton was first settled, and for a time was known as Union Bench.

1850. Payson first settled. Originally named Peteetneet, after a Ute Indian chief who lived near Payson's current location.

1850. The original name of Pleasant Grove was Battle Creek. It was named for a battle which took place there in 1849 between Mormon settlers and a small band of Ute Indians.

1850. Springville was originally settled. The city was first called Hobble Creek by early pioneers. Later, as the town grew, the name was changed to Springville because of the many freshwater springs in the area.

1852. Lehi grew so rapidly that, Bishop Evans petitioned the Utah Territorial Legislature to incorporate the settlement. Lehi City was incorporated by legislative act on February 5, 1852 and approved a request to call the new city Lehi.

1853.Daniel H. Wells, the head of the Nauvoo Legion (Utah Territorial Militia at the time), instructed settlers in American Fork to move into specific forts. At a meeting on July 23, 1853 at the schoolhouse in American Fork, Lorenzo Snow and Parley P. Pratt convinced the settlers to follow Wells' directions and all move together into a central fort.

1855. The town of Fairfield was established when John Carson, his four brothers, and others settled in the Cedar Valley. The settlement was soon known as Frogtown.

1855 to 1860. Between 1855 and 1860, the arrival of pioneers from Iceland made Spanish Fork into the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the United States.

1860. Settlers changed the name of Lake City to American Fork.

1861. Frogtown became Fairfield; named after Amos Fielding, who participated in establishing the community.

1861. Lindon was settled. It was originally named "String Town" because of the way the houses were strung up and down the street. An old linden tree (Tilia) growing in town in 1901 inspired the present (misspelled) name.

1870. Highland was settled by homesteaders,so named by Scottish Mormon immigrants who felt the area resembled the highlands of Scotland.

Named for the Ute Indians, Spanish word Yuta.

Local Histories

The City of Orem was named after W.C. Orem, builder of the railroad which ran through the town. Payson was named after an early settler, James Pace. The community was previously known as Fort Peteetneet after a Ute Indian chief. Of course, the County and the State are named after the Ute (or Utah) Indians.Springville was once known as Hobble Creek because a member of a Mormon exploring party lost his horse's hobbles in or near the creek. Pleasant Grove, named after a cottonwood grove near the original town site, was once known as Battle Creek since it was the site of the first conflict between Indians and settlers. Elberta was named for its Elberta peach orchards and Salem was named after New Salem, Massachusetts, but was first called Pond Town after the large pond that today is known as Salem Pond.The first library in Provo was opened in 1854 and there has been an official U.S. Post Office in the city since at least 1894. Provo General Hospital opened in 1903 and gave way to Utah Valley Hospital in 1939. The Utah State (Mental) Hospital dates back to 1880 but was formerly known by less politically correct names. Electric service first came to the valley in 1890.The Provo area is known worldwide as the home of Brigham Young University. Brigham Young issued a deed of trust to establish Brigham Young Academy on October 16,1875. The fledgling institution went through some rough years and nearly folded on occasion before officially becoming Brigham Young University on October 23, 1903. From humble beginnings with sometimes only a handful of students, it is now a major university with some 30,000 students.1900 to the Present DayThe County population grew slowly and steadily through the years of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. The official census counted 23,768 citizens in 1890 and that number grew to only 49,021 in 1940. Today, the county has 516,564* residents.For many years, Geneva Steel was one of the few major employers outside of agriculture, government and schools. Geneva was built during World War II to provide steel for the war effort. But starting in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the valley became one of the entrepreneurial hot spots of the nation and, in particular, has become a Mecca for high-tech, computer-related companies.

Most of the land in Utah was originally obtained from the US federal government by a patent. These General Land Office Records are available and searchable free of charge. The minimum information needed for a search is the state where the land is located and the name of the person receiving the patent. Surveys and Land Status Records can also be searched here.

Herdsmen branded their cattle to keep track of stray animals. A 1913 directory displays the marks used by various Utah County, Utah Genealogy cattle owners:

Maps

Maps(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

County Maps from Utah County Online, both static (PDF) and interactive

Native Races

Native races(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Newspapers

Small town newspapers contain obituaries, birth or death notices, community news (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and provide historical content. See Utah newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

Utah Digital Newspapers Project presents newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view all newspapers digitized for Utah County, Utah Genealogy.

Utah County Newspapers This is the FamilySearch Wiki page for "overflow" information on the newspapers of Utah County, including history and links to modern newspapers.

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, and living family members. See Utah Obituaries for state level compendiums and United States Obituaries for tips and insights regarding this record type.

Obituaries for residents may be found in:

The Utah Valley Obituary Index includes most Utah County newspapers, which can be found at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU. They have a microfilm collection and a set of the original book version published in 2001 in their Religion and Family History Department.

On the GenWeb site you will find Deaths/Obits of Yergensen, Pearl, Nuttall V, and the Information from the Daily Herald Obits from October 2004 - Feb 2004 (selected months).

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

In Utah, such records may be difficult to find. Try records of the church they may have attended. Realize, however, that such records may have not been preserved, and would not be in the typical records of membership.

It is possible there were records kept by civilian authorities. Ask town or county officials and local librarians and the State Archives. Also try National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (online).

Schools

Schools(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Societies

Societies(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Taxation

Taxation(microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Utah County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

See also neighboring counties for birth information, due to family members living in that area, religious preferences, convenience, and other reasons.

1898-present

County clerks became responsible for recording births beginning in 1898. In 1905, the State Department of Health assumed responsibility and required the counties to forward copies of the records to them.

It took a few years after the requirements for people, doctors, midwives, and officials to comply, so some early birth registrations were missed.

Records open to the public

Birth records created more than 100 years agoState Department of Health Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates page. are open to the public.

1898-1905 Series #84185 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index.

FamilySearch Library copy: FSL film 485244 . There are some names of children in the records, but not all.

Idea: use censuses and church records to learn those missing children's names.

1906-1910 online images for Utah County, Utah Genealogy at the State Archives. Browse the "not yet indexed" area by year and county. Most entries do have names of children.

Marriage

Marriages for Utah from 20 Feb 1851 to 25 Aug 1941 are listed on the Western States Marriage Index. Data is incomplete as there are no civil government recorded marriages in Utah County prior to 1887. Some early divorce records were also indexed and included.

Death

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed as the Historical Records . Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.